Sensex, Nifty climb over 1% each; investors add Rs 4 lakh crore in wealth

Indian equity benchmarks rose sharply on Wednesday, led by sustained buying in information technology (IT) stocks, while metals, FMCG and pharma shares also supported the upmove.

The 30-share BSE Sensex pack jumped 888.68 points or 1.16 per cent to settle at 77,654.60. The broader NSE Nifty50 index climbed 264.85 points or 1.10 per cent to close at 24,250.20.

The rally added around Rs 4.18 lakh crore to investor wealth, with the combined market capitalisation (m-cap) of BSE-listed companies increasing to Rs 483.35 lakh crore from Rs 479.16 lakh crore in the previous session.

Among the top gainers on the Sensex were HDFC Bank Ltd, Infosys Ltd, Bharti Airtel Ltd, Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T), Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), ICICI Bank Ltd, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) and Tata Steel Ltd.

The broader market also participated in the rally. Midcap and smallcap indices advanced between 0.82 per cent and 1.48 per cent, indicating improved market breadth and renewed risk appetite.

Ankur Punj, MD & Business Head at Equirus Wealth, noted, "Indian equities outperformed several global indices despite a jump in crude oil prices owing to renewed optimism in traditional IT stocks. While the Nifty IT index has rallied over 17 per cent this month, the Q1 earnings of most of the frontline tech firms were in line with estimates, which helped regain investors' confidence."

He added that the initial AI-driven rally in Asian markets such as South Korea's KOSPI and Taiwan had moderated over the past few weeks, resulting in a recovery in domestic IT stocks.

Ajit Mishra, SVP (Research) at Religare Broking, said, "Investor sentiment improved on the back of encouraging quarterly earnings from select companies and continued strength in the IT pack. A stronger rupee further supported sentiment, although participants remained cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve's policy decision. Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and elevated crude oil prices continued to remain on investors' radar."

Nifty outlook

From a technical perspective, Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, stated, "In the near term, Nifty is likely to remain strong, with the potential to rise towards 24,450–24,500. On the lower end, support is placed at 24,100. Sentiment may weaken if the index falls below this level, which could lead to a decline towards 23,950."